


The Cucumbers Just Stay There

by tactile_introvert



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/F, Fluffy, Not really romantic, Spa Day, but could be the beginnings of something, hazel is an exasperated younger sister, nico is a protective brother, pipazel friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-16 08:39:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11249568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tactile_introvert/pseuds/tactile_introvert
Summary: Hazel is having a bad day, so she stops by to pay Piper a visit. Piper has just the spa day for the job.





	The Cucumbers Just Stay There

“Nico, I did not ‘just get here,’ I’ve been at Camp Half-blood for a full three days. And i’m just going to see Piper and Percy and Annabeth!” Hazel mumbled as she walked out of the Hades cabin.  
  
“Ok, just be back in time for the campfire sing-along. Will is a pretty awesome singer,” Nico shouted to Hazel’s back. He just wanted to make sure she was ok; she had just been complaining of some problems with the Mist. Nico knows how competent Hazel is with it, and if she’s commenting about the problem, the Mist must really be acting up. He’ll have to head over to the Hecate cabin later to find Lou Ellen and talk with her about it.  
  
Hazel began her stroll through the cabins.She looked down to admire the springy, green grass and flowers making their way in a line to the Demeter cabin. Maybe Miranda was feeling extra happy today and chose to go on a walk; she tends to leave lilies when she’s in a good mood. Hazel loved the warm sun in the cloudless Long Island sky. She could hear the dryads and naiads playing in the forest, and the huffing of the fauns - no, satyrs - as they chased after them. Hazel couldn’t believe how peaceful and laid-back the Greeks were. She spied a couple Hermes kids terrorizing the Apollo cabin with kazoos of mass cacophony. A group of Hephaestus kids were trying out their new Greek fire-shooting drone in some Ares cabin drill. Hazel could understand Ares kids’ spirit, but their discipline was severely lacking.  
  
_What are you thinking, Hazel? You know this is just leftover propaganda from your time at Camp Jupiter! Romans may be disciplined, but we sure are full of ourselves._  
  
Hazel shook her head to clear her mind as she decided to visit Piper in cabin 10. A nice chat always cheered her up on the Argo II. Gods know she could use some girl time after that talk with Nico. He’s such a worrier!  
  
Hazel approached the doorway and knocked. Upon hearing Lacy’s “Come on in,” Hazel opened the door to find Piper half-asleep reading a book of old Cherokee stories she must have gotten from her grandpa.  
  
“Hey Piper. How are you doing?” Hazel greeted.  
  
“Hi Hazel. What brings you here?”  
  
“I’ve just been really stressed out lately and I thought we could chat to help distract from all of it.”  
  
“Of course, I’m always here for you, girl! In fact, I have the perfect antidote for stress. Wait one second. Lace, can you help her get ready?”  
  
“Lacy, what is she talking about?” Hazel asked guardedly. Piper’s enthusiasm and that glint in her eye combined make for troublesome times.  
  
“Don’t worry Hazel, just relax! We’re here to pamper you,” Lacy assured, “Now, show me your hands. I’ve got to get them ready for the manicure!”  
  
Ever cautious, Hazel hesitantly splayed her fingers for Lacy to see. There was still the remnants of some gold nail polish she’d tried to apply herself, but it never really worked out.  
  
“Well, nothing a little exfoliating can’t fix!” Lacy said after a half-second too long of a pause. She began working on Hazel’s cuticles with such tenacity that Hazel was worried there wouldn’t be any nail left to paint when she was through!  
  
“There we go! Good as new!” Lacy smiled, proud of her work. After a quick coating of primer to help the later coats, Hazel got a good look at Lacy’s handiwork. Hazel couldn’t blame her for being proud. Her nails hadn’t looked this good since… well, since the 30′s.  
  
Hazel didn’t have much time to admire them, because just then, Piper burst through the doorway from the bathroom carrying all kinds of supplies. The color range was the most surprising to Hazel. The various concoctions ranged from clear (nail polish remover was Hazel’s best guess) to gold nail polish to even a container black as the night sky.  
  
“Okay, Gemstone, it’s time to sit yourself down here and bask i the glory of Madame Piper’s Pampering! Patent pending,” Piper proclaimed. She only got this snarky when she was really excited about something, so Hazel obliged her request and displayed her fingers for Piper’s inspection.  
  
“So, I’m thinking this darker, brownish gold would do wonders to bring out your eyes. What do you think?” Piper asked as a courtesy. Hazel knew she knew that Hazel would trust Piper’s decisions, if only because Hazel trusted her own less than anyone else’s.  
  
“Go ahead,” Hazel said, “I bet it will look just lovely.”  
  
Piper got to work right away expertly covering each nail in a perfectly even layer of pigment. Hazel guessed beauty product expertise came with the whole Aphrodite kid territory. She’d only known skulls and cursed gems as her demigod experience, and she would never admit to the fleeting envious feeling that came over her. But Hazel soon dismissed it. Piper was doing her a favor after all, and she loved getting to spend time with the Beauty Queen, as Hazel so lovingly referred to Piper.  
  
“Done with the first coat! Now, as this dries, I was thinking we could try out this new face mask craze that I’ve seen through Iris-Messages to some of the Aphrodite kids who go home during the school year,” Piper started to rummage through her supplies and gave a small noise of approval when she grabbed what she had been looking for.  
  
When Hazel saw the contents, she was less than pleased.  
  
“You said this was a face mask, right? The only liquid darker than my skin tone? Is this some kind of joke, Pipes?” Hazel inquired. Piper wasn’t the type for douchey humor like this. She was of Native descent, so Hazel thought she was more aware than this.  
  
“What? You mean… Oh my gods, I’m so sorry. I swear, it’s just a charcoal mask. It’s supposed to be very exfoliating and leave your pores clear. I can put it back if you want me to. Sorry, I obviously wasn’t thinking,” Piper’s apology was genuine.  
  
“It’s ok, I just have never heard of a charcoal face mask. Let’s try it!” Hazel said, eager to move on from the awkward interaction.  
  
“All right, let’s do it. Again, I’m really sorry. I truly didn’t mean that. Let’s start with the cucumbers…”


End file.
